the hole.

"How shall I ever get food for my children!" cried the poor man.

Then another voice was heard. It was that of the spirit of the fields,
and it said, "The southern half of the field is the poor man's, and the
northern half shall be his too."

The rich man would have run away, but the voice called, "Wait. Look
where the bushes once stood. The boy in the hole and his wicked father
shall hide in the darkness as long as they live, and never again shall
they see the light of the sun."

This is the story of the first moles, and this is why the mole never
comes to the light of day.

THE STORY OF THE FIRST ANTS.

"This jar is full of smoked flesh," said one voice.

"This has fish, this is full of honey, and that one is almost running
over with oil," said another voice. "We shall have all that we need to
eat for many days to come."

These are the words that a villager coming home from his work heard his
mother and his sister say.

"They have often played tricks on me," he said to himself, "and now I
will play one on them." So he went into the house and said, "Mother, I
have found that I have a wonderful sense of smell, and by its help I can
find whatever is hidden away."

"That is a marvelous story," cried the sister.

"If you can tell me what is in these jars," said his mother, "I shall
think you are really a magician. What is it now?"

"This is flesh, this fish, this honey, and this jar is full of oil,"
said the man.

"I never heard of such a marvel in all my life," cried the mother; and
in the morning she called her friends and said, "Only think what a
wonderful sense of smell my son has! He told me what was in these jars
when they were closed."

It was not long before the people all through the country heard of the
wonderful man, and one day word came that the king wished to see him at
once.

The man was afraid, for he did not know what would happen to him, and he
was still more afraid when the king said, "A pearl is lost that I had in
my hand last night. They say you can find things that are lost. Find my
pearl, or your head will he lost."

The poor man went out into the forest. "Oh, how I wish I had not tried
to play tricks," he wailed. "Then this sharp sorrow, this dire trouble,
would not have come upon me."

"Please, please do not tell the king," said two voices in the shadow of
the trees.

"Who are you?" asked the man.

"Oh, you must know us well," said a man coming out into